Sure.
The name is Mark
I'm from South Africa.

Not much to talk about.

Week has been very simple. Going back to work tomorrow after 2 weeks of leave.

Hello Mark :)

How are things in South Africa? I'm in Canada and I can't say I hear much from that part of the world so I'm always curious.

Where do you work now? More importantly was the leave a pleasant one?

Have you read much of Kyell Gold's work beyond OOP? I'm a huge fan of his work and saw your journal post on it (sorry, I sometimes go creeper on people's profiles).

Well here in SA things are going... Ok I suppose? Hehe.
It's a beautiful place to visit, but not the best place to live if you want to have a successful life. Sure it's POSSIBLE to be successful, but the country is going backwards with the economy's current state.

Honestly... I want to migrate to get away from this place.

As for my leave. Leave was very relaxing. I work in retail, so it's nice to get a break from angry customers. Haha.
I work for South Africa's leading retailer of Games.
The company is called BT Games. It's basically like the SA version of Gamestop. (I think it's called Gamestop).
I'm just a basic sales rep though.

And as for Kyell Gold. I have read a lot of his work.
(OOP, isolation play, divions, green fairy(my personal favourite), red devil. Dude where's my fox, and winter games)
Another artist and author who's work I really love is  Rukis

Definitely have to go check out her novels "Heretic" and "Off the beaten path"

But enough about me. Tell me more about yourself.

I think that describes everywhere to some degree. I'm studying Engineering in Alberta, Canada which means that our options are pretty much oil industry or leave. Jobs exist outside of that and we do get good starting pay but the stress can be killer and our oil industry is looking a little shaky at the moment. I'm currently fighting some red tape to change from electrical engineering to computer which has has been less than enjoyable.

I have worked retail, so I know the pain. It was at a small local grocery store and I think we got fewer angry customers and more the drunk/high ones. I had one accidentally drop a steak knife on my counter after trying to pay with her probation ID card and prescription drugs...The store closed down in the spring but I have some fun stories like that.

I have a copy of Heretic but haven't gotten around to reading it. I do agree with you on Green Fairy; I loved the imagery in it and it's actually the inspiration for a picture that I have yet to finish. Uncovered (OOP #4) is also a great read and he breaks from the rut he was starting to get into with 2 & 3 and Volle is amazing with character development and great plot.

I'm actually pretty boring. Most of my activities like my art are computer based. I have a decent laptop but don't do much gaming and I run Linux which has some restrictions on that front. I have been trying to hone my computer tech skills and have become the go-to person for everyone I know. A few weeks ago I did a basic repair on a hard drive and saved someone $1400 in data recovery costs. Generally speaking I'm usually either creating something or solving problems.

Haha. I'd love to hear more of those stories XD.

I was looking at Volle, but I still have Uncovered and Bridges in my digital library to check out.

You really like computers a lot? Do you play games frequently?

There are a few good ones. If you send me an interesting one I'll tell you about when we had the SWAT team show up for a few hours...

I LOVE computers. I've dabbled/taken classes in around 10 programming languages and can pick them up really quickly at this point. I'm hoping to get an actual desktop eventually but I'd be looking at paying around $1600 Canadian on it and can't really afford that right now.

I do a bit of gaming. I play Don't Starve Together with a friend and I've been playing with Minetest (Free Minecraft alternative) for two days now. I can also emulate most older handheld and console systems and can go up to PS1 and possibly Gamecube with my current specs. Other than that I play some games on NotDoppler and Kongregate sometimes.

I'm guessing that being a sales rep means you do some gaming yourself?

Well... My PlayStation and I used to be inseparable, but I sold it recently.
I was a big fan of Call of Duty, Ratchet and Clank, and Final Fantasy.
I guess working with games all day kinda burnt me out.

I'll probably pick up playing again in the future.
I'm looking to get myself a desktop myself.

I can imagine that feeling and it really is too bad that it happens. I'm a little worried that going into a computer heavy field will do that to me.

I think desktops are starting to make a comeback. I like looking at gaming PCs that cost under $750 and can actually run well.

Another reason why I'm looking at getting a pc is because of the versatility. With consoles it's just games and watching videos and listening to music.
I want to get a PC because lately I've been enjoying digital art and want to pick up photoshop. I'm also looking at buying an electronic drumkit. With a pc I can set up a lot of effects and do recordings for personal use.
I used to play in a band back in the day. Our CD is posted on my page (if you wanna check it out by the way).

And I wouldn't worry too much about getting tired of pc. I played roughly 700 hours on each Call of duty and Final Fantasy. Those are the reasons behind getting over it. Haha XD

I've always been a PC person partially because of that versatility. You also avoid the console wars to a large degree and emulators usually run great on a gaming system.

If you want to get into digital art I'd suggest starting with Krita instead of Photoshop. Photoshop only does the 'Creative Cloud' now which means you pay $30 a month just to own it. Krita is a free, professional program designed for drawing and painting.

I actually listened to some of your tracks a while back and thought they were really well done even if it's not my favorite sound. It would be awesome to hear what you come up with now.

700 hours...Each...Yup, that would kill anything.

I'll definitely check this "Krita" out when I eventually get a PC.
And as for when I get an e-drumkit, a friend and myself are gonna be making music similar to what "I see stars" do.

Can't wait to get back into music.

They have an interesting blend of sounds. I can't wait to hear it.

Eh, I drew mostly, with some castlevania and guitar playing here and there. Watched anime. Nothing exciting.

That's probably more than I've been up to. Which Castlevania was it? I've played a bit of one and been wanting to get more into it but don't quite know where to start. What anime was it and was it any good?

symphony of the night and aria of sorrow, both great games. The anime is tokyo ravens. Cool story and visuals so far, but it has a romance heavy plot. So if you do not like romance plots, eh.

I think I was playing Aria of Sorrow and should get around to finishing it. I like the occasional romance plot so I might check it out.

Yesterday I was up by 3 something in the morning so I could make it to the beach in time for a low tide at 5:54. Nothing beats running around on wet, slippery rock before the sun comes up. It was fun to see the fish and lobsters. One fish had bright blue spots on it. Also, there was a stingray. The water wasn't half bad. Still trying to readjust to a normal schedule The rest of the week has been fairly uneventful.

That sounds amazing and you're so nonchalant about it :P The best body of water we have nearby are muddy lakes...I've been to Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise but if your most recent photo is any indication your views are at least as good. Being on the beach at dawn just sounds perfect.

Banff, Jasper, and Lake Louise look incredible, if a bit on the cold side. Dawn and weekdays are the best time to be on the beach here, otherwise the beaches are crowded and overly hot. So many tourists!

Tourist are always pretty bad. Ours are a lot of tourist traps so they decorate everything like log cabins and look like the Canadian stereotype. It gets cold at night and during winter but it's cool to walk on Lake Louise when it's frozen.